Nikon Superior E 8x32 - Reviewed 2/98



I have been waiting, with baited breath as they say, for an 8 power Superior E ever since Nikon introduced the 10x42. The 10x42 offers what I believe, based on a wide range of comparative tests, is the best view currently available. I have never, despite my best efforts to change my habits, been comfortable carrying 10x glasses.

You can imagine my excitement then, when I did a Nikon School of Birding at L.L. Bean this past fall, and was handed serial #1 of the 8x32 Superior E. I got another chance to use it the next weekend in Wisconsin, and had a production sample for testing two months later (serial #86).

Why 8x32? Nikon has a good deal of success with their 8x30E. It is consistently rated high in European birding circles. Just as important though, is the fact that the 32mm objectives allow Nikon to use the same prism housing and eyepieces that they used in the 10x model. A 42mm would have required a complete redesign. It is, arguably, the eyepiece design of the Superior Es that sets them apart from the rest of the porroprism pack.

In theory, an exceptional 32mm glass should show all of the detail the human eye is capable of seeing. In practice, and hand-held, 32mm glasses equal the performance of larger glasses in all but the most extreme conditions (for more, see the Is Bigger Better piece earlier in this issue). When you factor in the ease of carrying and using the smaller glass, 32mm binoculars begin to make a lot of sense. Would I rather have seen an 8x42 Superior E? Yes. Most of the time these days, I am willing to carry a slightly bigger and heavier glass if I know I might need that smidgen of extra performance. Still, since the 8x32 Superior Es arrived, I have to force myself to carry anything else. They are the glasses I pick out of the pile of waiting optics 9 out of 10 times out the door.

Part of the reason is their wide field of view. At 7.5° (over 390 feet at 1000 yards), they offer a truly wide-angle view. They do it however, without the distortions and edge softness, and without the short eye-relief associated with wide-angle binoculars. The view through the 8x32s is sharp edge to edge, and distortion (bending of straight lines at the edge of the field) is so minimal that you have to look for it to see it at all. These glasses come as close to matching the true field of focused attention of the human eye/brain system as any I have used. In this they are very close to the experience provided by the famous 7x42 Zeiss. Eye-relief is not as long as some of the roof prism glasses, but is more than adequate to allow most birders to see the full field, or something close to it, even with glasses on.

And what a view! The 8x32s provide the same crisp, sharp, effortless view that made the 10x42s so clearly superior. Their NEED score, tripod mounted, equals the score of the best 8x50 binoculars I have yet tested. They come very close to the theoretical promise for 32mm objectives of delivering all the detail the human eye can absorb. Contrast and color fidelity are also exceptional. It is very easy to forget that you are looking through binoculars at all when using the Superior Es...the view is that natural. You might think you just walked 8 times closer.

Of course, the size and weight are a benefit as well. The 8x32s are small without being dainty. They have enough surface to wrap your hands around comfortably, and enough weight to feel solid in the hands and to resist body tremor...but are still compact and light enough to be a joy in the field. They share the 10x42s intelligent body design...one that allows you to keep your elbows in and your forearms under the binoculars for a steady, roof prism-like, hold. Ergonomically, there is little Nikon could have done to improve the 8x32s. They feel as good as any porro can in the hands...and for those of us who like the slightly wider grip of a porro, that is saying a lot!

Finally, I just like these binoculars. Liking goes beyond rational comparison, or an assessment of the various features, strengths and weakness, of any binoculars. Some glasses you just like better than others. The 7x42 Zeiss, the original 7x35 Leitz Trinovid and the new 8x32, the Swift Audubon 8.5x44, the 10x40 Zeiss, the Swarovski 8x30 SLC, the Bausch & Lomb Custom Compacts, the Celestron 9x44 EDs (you could make your own list)...there are some binoculars that are greater than the sum of their parts...they just look good, feel good, give you the sense that they are never going to let you down...they are binoculars that you just want to pick up and use, that you just love to own and carry. The Nikon Superior E 8x32s are, as far as I am concerned, in that class. For me, they currently top that class. These are the binoculars that I like best.

They are not, however, weatherproof. I have yet to get them to fog up, but I did manage to fog the 10x42s recently. I washed the eyepieces before going out, using my very wet method, and evidently did not dry them well enough. After about 90 minutes in 20° weather with a wind chill of about -10, they fogged when I got back into the car and drove from one birding spot to another. In hindsight, though, I consider what I did to them that day close to abuse. They have never fogged since, and the 8x32s didn't fog that day, though they had the same treatment. Still, for extreme birding, or birding over or around water, the Leica 8x32s, with their true waterproofing, definitely have an advantage. If weather protection is an overriding consideration, the Superior Es should not be your choice.

So, how do the Superior Es fit into the BVD Reference Set? Though it feels like hedging (I mean how can there be two Best All Around Birding Binoculars) I have to rate the Nikon Superior E 8x32s co-Best All Around Birding Binoculars with the Leica 8x32s. The Nikons have slightly better optical performance, a slightly sharper and easier view than the Leicas, but the Leicas are completely weatherproof. Some of you are going to like the way the porros feel in the hands, some of you are going to prefer the roof feel. Cost is an issue here too. The Superior Es should be available for something like $300 less than the Leicas, which, you might argue, makes them a Best Buy in high performance binoculars. If I had to make a choice, right now, today, I would buy the Nikons. I would be a bit more careful of how I handled my binoculars in extreme weather, invest some of that $300 in good protective rain gear, and enjoy an unparalleled view of the birds I see in the field.